Regional budget for 9/1/07 and weekend

Friday

Aug 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2007 at 11:37 PM

Jonie Larson, Regional Editor

GateHouse News Service Regional Budget (9/1/07 through 9/4/07)
Here are the top Illinois stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at http://ghns.ghnewsroom.com
*Please check this Web site in the evening for changes to story lineup, including breaking news.
Contacts:
Regional Editor Jonie Larson, (217) 816-3343, jlarson@gatehousemedia.com
National Editor Jean Hodges, (630) 348-3350, jhodges@gatehousemedia.com

REFER TO THE WEB SITE DURING THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND FOR CHANGES TO THE BUDGET. IF BREAKING NEWS OCCURS IN YOUR CIRCULATION AREA, PLEASE SUBMIT IT TO THE NEWS SERVICE.

News

CAPITOL ANALYSIS: WHAT ARE TWO-YEAR SCHOOLS LOOKING TO DO? One Illinois community college could offer bachelor's degrees, and others could run their own student housing operations under separate legislative proposals that have some observers wondering: Are the state's two-year schools looking to change their traditional role?
BREAKOUT: Two house bills
COLINDRES/CAPITOL BUREAU/weekend release/posted Thursday evening/Illinois Opinion and Illinois News

REAGAN FELLOWS PACKAGE: (EMBARGOED UNTIL SUNDAY): Kohli's initiation into the world of medicine was made possible thanks to a scholarship named after President Reagan. The endowed Ronald W. Reagan Leadership program, organized in 1982 in honor of Reagan and his ties to Eureka College, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year of providing 116 students since its inception with free tuition and the opportunity to travel, through a mentorshipprogram, for real world studies.
SIDEBAR
TIMELINE
QUIZ (fun layer)
PEORIA/Category: Illinois (Again, whole package embargoed until Sunday)

LABOR DAY SPECIAL: (EMBARGOED UNTIL MONDAY) On Labor Day weekend, when America celebrates the nation's labor movement, founders and employees at Oncology Hematology Associates and two other central Illinois companies reflect on the democratic philosophy of their workplace, recognizing that the Wall Street model measuring performance in terms of quarterly profits is not the right model for them. For these central Illinois companies, performance is measured in terms of relationships. PEORIA/Illinois
SIDEBAR: There is a strong correlation between a company's culture and its profitability, concludes a landmark, multi-year study at Bradley University.Corporate culture has more sustained impact on long-term profitability than cost cutting, the research indicates.PEORIA/Illinois
ART: Yes (Again, must not run prior to Monday)

MLB PARK TOUR: A huge Cardinals fan, Jane Carruthers was content with Busch Stadium. Until she visited Baltimore's Camden Yards, and she yearned for more. This year, she completed her tour of all the Major League stadiums in North America. PELZER/SPRINGFIELD/this afternoon/Illinois News
ART: mug
SUGGESTED ART: Picture or pictures of major league baseball parks.

PURE BRED CATS RAISED ON OLD PIG NURSERY: Nancy McClure is operating a cathouse on her family’s rural Kirkwood farm that attracts customers from all over the country. But her kind of cathouse doesn’t raise her neighbors’ eyebrows. GALESBURG
With Art/moving this evening/Illinois News

OLD CEMETERIES: Gaines Cemetery, one of several abandoned cemeteries in Saline County, is in a wooded area in the middle of a bean field on Grumley Road at the northeastern edge of Saline County. The property is owned by Roger Grumley and Becky Seely, Vessell said. A path through the bean fields – courtesy of Rector Township Road Commissioner Mike Murray – leads to the cemetery. Just one of several abandoned cemeteries that’s hoping for attention. HARRISBURG/moving this afternoon/Illinois

GAY LIFE: A few area high schools and others across the state have clubs that cater to the needs of gay and lesbian students. A Hononegah student and teacher would like to create one at Rockton's only high school but their proposal has been met with criticism and opposition. The School Board objects to the idea of a separate club for gays and will vote on the issue later this month. We take an in depth look at this issue through the eyes of other schools who have these groups in place. What has it done for their gay student population. Also we'll have state, national groups weigh in on the legalities surrounding the Schol Board's stance against this group being formed. BAXTER/LaCross/ROCKFORD/ moves 10 p.m. Friday/Illinois News

NEW APPOINTMENT: Gov. Blagojevich appoints Brigadier General William L. Enyart as the new adjutant general of Illinois. He will command 13,000 members of the Army and Air National Guards. Enyart is also an attorney from Belleville. Efforting interview. HEUPEL/CAPITOL BUREAU/this evening/Illinois News

URGING JONES TO CHANGE MIND: Some Senate Democrats are suggesting that Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, should change his mind and let them vote on overrides of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's line-item budget cuts. FINKE/CAPITOL BUREAU/Illinois
BREAKOUT: With Budget At A Glance box. HEUPEL/this evening/Illinois

HEATED BEER GARDENS: (good one to localize) A statewide smoking ban will go into effect Jan. 1, 2008. Some local bars are already making plans to accommodate their smoking customers. Mr. Lucky’s Gold Mine on Chicago Street is building an elaborate heated beer garden. Legends Billiards Bar on North Kickapoo has done the same, with 2,500 square feet devoted to the cause. LINCOLN/this afternoon/Illinois News

CODE OFFICERS: Billie Weston has been a Roscoe cop for 19 years, but people have been really surprised to see him these last two weeks. It’s like they didn’t even know he existed. Roscoe and South Beloit have both hired part-time code enforcement officers recently in an effort to make their respective municipalities look nicer.
WISER/LaCross moes 7 p.m. Friday/ROCKFORD/Illinois News

COLD MORGUE: (w/pic) After spending about $200,000 on a coroner's morgue that's been chillin’ over a year and a half, the county may be close to actually switching it on and finding someone to use it. Apparently, board certified forensic pathologists come at a premium, with only a couple hundred across the country. The current pathologist apparently has preferred her own digs. Will check out the morgue; explain the coroner's duties and that of the pathologist and why it's taken so long to fill the post. (18 inches by 1 p.m.) HANEY/PEORIA/late this afternoon/Illinois News

NO BALL FOR THESE GIRLS: Judge says girls can’t play ball until lawsuit is decided. HARRISBURG/this afternoon/Illinois News

HUGE LOTTERY/CHARTICLE. (w/pic and mugs) (A good one to duplicate in your market.) What would you do with $330 million dollars? Will ask Peorians. Will also include some crazy trivia about what this amount of money would buy. (merits; by 8 p.m.) KOCH/Illinois News

BLUES FEST. (w/pic and video) Will head out to Blues Fest tonight and featurize. (15 inches by 9:30 p.m.) KOCH/PEORIA/Illinois News

CROWN II CLOSING: Laid-off miners are meeting at 10 a.m. at the K of C hall in Virden. Also talking to new owners about all the mines they’ve bought. D. LANDIS/SPRINGFIELD/Illinois

LAHOOD ON CSPAN: U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, will discuss his experience in the U.S. House and influence of money in politics on a C-SPAN program Sunday. LaHood will be the guest for Q&A, a new interview series with C-SPAN President and CEO Brian Lamb. (8-10 inches by 5 p.m.) MCDONALD./PEORIA/Illinois

EDITOR’S NOTE: 5 THINGS TO KNOW WILL NOT BE OFFERED THIS WEEK. Reporter is on vacation.

Sports

EDITORS: Please note the new college logos posted on the site for your use.

GAME PREVIEW: Illinois plays Missouri Saturday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, it kicks off an ambitious tough schedule that makes it tougher to get to a bowl game. A preview capsule is included with the story. SUPINIE/this evening/Illinois Sports and College Sports: Football

LPGA: State Farm Classic continues in Springfield. Story and photo. SPRINGFIELD/Pro Sports and Illinois Sports

Opinions

CAPITOL NOTEBOOK: In a constitutional soap opera, the executive branch of state government asked the judicial branch to force the legislative branch to obey the governor. CAPITOL BUREAUS/posted/llinois Opinion and Illinois News

EDITORIAL: BEWARE BLAGO’S BLADE - If you were a Hollywood scriptwriter, could you even make up the sitcom that Illinois state government has become? Dysfunction is funny, of course, until it just becomes pathetic. We'd suggest Springfield is approaching that latter threshold at breakneck speed, what with the governor slicing and dicing parts of the budget and suing the speaker of the House and precipitating a constitutional showdown following the longest foray into fiscal folly in the state's history. PEORIA/posted/Illinois Opinions

EDITORIAL: AN UP-TO-DATE LOOK AT ILLINOIS STATE SYMBOLS - State animal: Currently it's the white-tailed deer, too spry a beast for a Legislature that took a record-breaking eight months to pass a spending plan. More appropriate? The three-toed sloth. PEORIA/posted/Illinois Opinions

BRITT GOLF SERIES: Series of cartoons related to golf. Chris has been at the LPGA tournament in Springfield, Ill., and has produced a series of non-specific toons that would fit into any golf-related section. BRITT/SPRINGFIELD/posted/Illinois Opinions and Cartoons

EDITORIAL: RESTORING JUSTICE - If there is one thing we have learned from the Bush administration, it is that this is not an organization that learns from — or admits — its mistakes. SPRINGFIELD/posted Thursday night/Illinois Opinions and Opinions

EDITORIAL: POKER GAME? Watching the so-called negotiations between the new Big Ten Network and cable TV giant Comcast is like watching a poker game between a seasoned card shark and Andy Hardy. SPRINGFIELD/posted Thursday night/Illinois Opinions

EDITORIAL: DRESS CODE GOOD IDEA - About 750 students at Illinois State University are dressing up for classes this semester. That’s because the ISU College of Business has instituted a dress policy requiring students to wear “business casual” clothes to class. GALESBURG/posted/Illinois Opinions

Weekend (moving on cycle)

AUBURN GIRLS: A vigil in memory of the three sisters who died in a LaSalle County car crash will be held Saturday. THARP/LaCross PHOTOS moves 9 p.m. Saturday/ROCKFORD/Illinois

U of I COVERAGE:
GAME STORY with art
NOTEBOOK
REPORT CARD ... All from Illinois' season opener against Missouri. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. SUPINIE/moving Saturday evening./Illinois Sports and College Sports: Football

LPGA: State Farm Classic continues in Springfield. Story and photo. SPRINGFIELD/Pro Sports and Illinois Sports

DAILY SOUTHTOWN:
ARVIA COLUMN – On former Bear Greg Primus. Primus is a doctor and doing a conference on concussions. MEIER PIX

GAME FOLLOWUP: A story that serves as a follow up to Illinois' game against Missouri, and a quick look ahead to the home opener against Western Illinois. SUPINIE/ Illinois Sports and College Sports: Football

FINAL LPGA: State Farm Classic finishes in Springfield. Story and photo. SPRINGFIELD/Pro Sports and Illinois Sports